NTP files suit against Yahoo using same ammo it fired at RIM and Palm

Patent holding company NTP has struck again, filing yet another patent infringement suit against a big tech company. This time, rather than a broad claim that encompasses multiple companies (like its suit three months ago against LG, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola, Google, and Apple; or its suit in 2007 which targeted wireless network operators) this claim is aimed squarely at Yahoo.

The complaint, filed on October 15 in the Eastern District Court of Virginia, focuses on five patents for wireless e-mail transmission that NTP used in its suit against Research in Motion (RIM) in 2001.

Through the five-year long case against BlackBerry maker RIM, NTP won several critical victories which could have resulted in either an injunction on BlackBerry services or massive financial penalties for the Canadian company. Though most of NTP's patent claims were systematically deemed invalid by the US Patent and Trademark Office, RIM eventually settled with the company for $612.5 million in 2006.

NTP tried to repeat that outcome with a suit against Palm just eight months later.

Federal judges put a stay on NTP's suit against Palm but investigation in that case is ongoing.

NTP alleges that Yahoo's mobile email and messaging applications infringe on seven of NTP's patents, which were developed by inventor Thomas Campana back in the 1990's for transmitting text to wireless pagers. NTP acquired the patents from defunct telecommunications company Telefind in 1992, and the very existence of NTP has been the subject of litigation from former Telefind employees and the surviving family members of Telefind's CEO.